Korn are widely credited for the rise of Limp Bizkit. Legend has it that after one of their shows, Durst gave Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch a free tattoo and his demo tape, which fell into the hands of producer Ross Robinson. Robinson produced their debut, Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$, and Bizkit were officially on the map.

Over the years, sporadic wars of words between Davis and Durst have been reported in the press, although the two did co-headline a successful six-date tour together 18 months ago. Irrespective of his opinion of the red-capped rapper, Davis has always consistently had a lot of love for Bizkit’s eccentric guitarist.

“I met Wes Borland in 1996 or something like that. When [Limp Bizkit] first started,” Davis says, sitting on a black leather couch backstage at Download Festival. Davis has just come off the second stage after playing a set of new material from his debut solo album, Black Labyrinth, a record that features Borland on a handful of tracks.

“I’ve been friends with him a long time,” he continues. “I’ve stayed in contact with him. Bizkit, I don’t really see that much, but with Wes, I’ve kept the relationship.

“I really respect him as an artist. He’s an all-around artist. He’s an amazing guitar player, painter, blacksmith. He’s all over the place. Quintessentially, if you look at artists, there’s Wes Borland.”

A post shared by Wes Borland (@thewesborland) on May 8, 2018 at 3:08pm PDT

Some of Black Labyrinth was recorded almost a decade ago. Davis explains that he was in full “dad-mode” after the birth of his third son, Zeppelin, but that he had every confidence in Borland who needed no direction or approval whatsoever. “I loved working with him. When he was doing his parts, I wasn’t even there. I trust him. Why have him if I tell him, ‘No, don’t do that, do this’? It’s like, ‘Be yourself dude, do what you do,’” he smiles coyly.

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